The search took roughly 17 days. But on Monday afternoon, several sources began reporting John Parrella was set to become Nebraska's new defensive line coach. Mike Riley made the news official when he announced the hiring today. My initial reaction to the choice was mixed. I have always felt programs the caliber of Nebraska should primarily hire proven coaches. It was one of Bo Pelini's shortcomings. Truth be told, Pelini's problem wasn't that he hired his buddies. It was that his assistants were not qualified, not yet at least, to coach for a program with the aspirations Nebraska has. They were generally good men, decent coaches, but they simply could not answer all of the challenges they were presented.
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</div>When Mike Riley was first hired, during his initial press conference he stressed that he would hire coaches who were experts at their position. On the surface this hire seems to contradict that philosophy, at least in terms of experience. I would have liked to have seen Riley fill the position with a proven commodity. Someone with recruiting ties in the Big Ten footprint, specifically the 500-mile radius. Someone who has a track record for recruiting places like Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City and Minneapolis. And if not, at least a coach who had a résumé that pointed to results on the recruiting trail and on the sidelines. I applaud Riley for identifying and pursuing Angus McClure. On Monday morning I made the case for Robert Prunty, and I still feel that filling the position with someone like Prunty, McClure or Chris Kiffin would have been the ideal course of action. If nothing else, it would have been the safest way to go.
It's my contention that had Parrella played his college ball anywhere besides Nebraska, his hiring would have been received with a lot of skepticism by Husker fans. Parrella was set to enter just his third year as defensive line coach at Northern Michigan, a Div.II program. His experience outside of NMU includes just one year as an assistant at Chabot (Calif.) junior college, and six years as the head coach at Valley Christian High School in San Jose. That is the kind of résumé that typically gets you an opportunity at a place like San Diego State or Bowling Green, not a big break at Nebraska. That doesn't mean the choice of Parrella was a mistake. In fact, I think it could turn out to be a fantastic hire.
Numerous programs have a staff member who is an alumnus, and Parrella embodies everything that Nebraska football stands for. He is from Grand Island and attended Central Catholic. Parrella walked on at Nebraska in 1988 after having his scholarship pulled at the last minute by Colorado. He began his career as a tight end, then switched to defensive tackle, where he became a three-time letterman and two-time All-Big Eight selection. He was voted one of the 100 Greatest Athletes in Nebraska Cornhusker history, was a 2001 inductee into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, and in 2011 was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame. A team captain as a senior, Parrella was a leader in the locker room who former Husker defensive coordinator Charlie McBride once ranked among the top three defensive tackles he had ever coached.
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</div>Parrella has a passion and love for Nebraska that will undoubtedly benefit current players. His respect for the "N" will permeate throughout the program and feed into the culture. He knows what it means to work hard and is an example of that hard work paying off. I expect Parrella to relish the opportunity to develop guys the way he was developed. His background in the NFL will give him instant credibility with current players as it pertains to his coaching. It will also resonate with recruits.
Following his senior season, Parrella was drafted in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He went on to spend 12 seasons in the league playing for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. From 1999-2001 he was coached by Mike Riley with the Chargers, which also included Mark Banker and Bruce Read on staff. He was a college teammate of Kenny Wilhite, who earlier this month was promoted to Nebraska's director of high school relations.
As with any coach, the focus will be on how well Parrella will be able to recruit. He has no experience doing it at this level, where the competition is intense and coaches need to be relentless. Regardless, I think he is going to excel on the recruiting trail. Parrella played in three Super Bowls with Buffalo (1993), San Diego (1994) and Oakland (2002). I would strongly suggest he wears one of those three AFC Championship rings when he hits the road to meet recruits. What better way to break the ice with a kid, his old man and his high school coach? Parrella played with Junior Seau, Bruce Smith, Warren Sapp, Jerry Rice, LaDainian Tomlinson, Charles Woodson, Drew Brees, Rod Woodson, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Cornelius Bennett, Neil Smith and Jim Kelly. No shame in name dropping either, John.
The bottom line with recruiting comes down to selling your program and everything it has to offer a prospective recruit. Parrella loves the Husker program. He's passionate about the Husker program. It's not going to be hard for him to sell the Husker brand to a kid. By all accounts, Parrella has the personality and demeanor that seems to suggest he will relate well with kids. After being a part of three Big Eight title teams and his time in the NFL, it's clear that Parrella knows the caliber of athlete needed to get Nebraska where they want to go. I suspect he will recruit California well, and also in and around Nebraska where his name still resonates. This has the potential to be a home run hire.
Prior to contributing to HuskerMax, Jeremy Pernell co-founded the all football website N2FL.com. He served as the editor in chief of the college football portion of the website which focused heavily on recruitment and talent analysis, including the NFL Draft. You can email him at N2FL@hotmail.com.
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It's my contention that had Parrella played his college ball anywhere besides Nebraska, his hiring would have been received with a lot of skepticism by Husker fans. Parrella was set to enter just his third year as defensive line coach at Northern Michigan, a Div.II program. His experience outside of NMU includes just one year as an assistant at Chabot (Calif.) junior college, and six years as the head coach at Valley Christian High School in San Jose. That is the kind of résumé that typically gets you an opportunity at a place like San Diego State or Bowling Green, not a big break at Nebraska. That doesn't mean the choice of Parrella was a mistake. In fact, I think it could turn out to be a fantastic hire.
Numerous programs have a staff member who is an alumnus, and Parrella embodies everything that Nebraska football stands for. He is from Grand Island and attended Central Catholic. Parrella walked on at Nebraska in 1988 after having his scholarship pulled at the last minute by Colorado. He began his career as a tight end, then switched to defensive tackle, where he became a three-time letterman and two-time All-Big Eight selection. He was voted one of the 100 Greatest Athletes in Nebraska Cornhusker history, was a 2001 inductee into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame, and in 2011 was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame. A team captain as a senior, Parrella was a leader in the locker room who former Husker defensive coordinator Charlie McBride once ranked among the top three defensive tackles he had ever coached.
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Following his senior season, Parrella was drafted in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He went on to spend 12 seasons in the league playing for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. From 1999-2001 he was coached by Mike Riley with the Chargers, which also included Mark Banker and Bruce Read on staff. He was a college teammate of Kenny Wilhite, who earlier this month was promoted to Nebraska's director of high school relations.
As with any coach, the focus will be on how well Parrella will be able to recruit. He has no experience doing it at this level, where the competition is intense and coaches need to be relentless. Regardless, I think he is going to excel on the recruiting trail. Parrella played in three Super Bowls with Buffalo (1993), San Diego (1994) and Oakland (2002). I would strongly suggest he wears one of those three AFC Championship rings when he hits the road to meet recruits. What better way to break the ice with a kid, his old man and his high school coach? Parrella played with Junior Seau, Bruce Smith, Warren Sapp, Jerry Rice, LaDainian Tomlinson, Charles Woodson, Drew Brees, Rod Woodson, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Tim Brown, Cornelius Bennett, Neil Smith and Jim Kelly. No shame in name dropping either, John.
The bottom line with recruiting comes down to selling your program and everything it has to offer a prospective recruit. Parrella loves the Husker program. He's passionate about the Husker program. It's not going to be hard for him to sell the Husker brand to a kid. By all accounts, Parrella has the personality and demeanor that seems to suggest he will relate well with kids. After being a part of three Big Eight title teams and his time in the NFL, it's clear that Parrella knows the caliber of athlete needed to get Nebraska where they want to go. I suspect he will recruit California well, and also in and around Nebraska where his name still resonates. This has the potential to be a home run hire.
Prior to contributing to HuskerMax, Jeremy Pernell co-founded the all football website N2FL.com. He served as the editor in chief of the college football portion of the website which focused heavily on recruitment and talent analysis, including the NFL Draft. You can email him at N2FL@hotmail.com.
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